Cape Town, South Africa

If I could describe Cape Town it would be this: If the outdoor culture of San Francisco and the weather + fashion of LA had a baby.. you would have Cape Town. To me, it was California.. on steroids! I loved every view, every meal, every person, every minute of it. We went over Christmas Break which meant the start of summer and it was perfect.

Perhaps my favorite thing was hiking Table Mountain to catch the sunrise. We began the hike at 5AM and each and every minute of it got better and better as the sun came up. Don't take the cable car up, hike it... trust me! 

Another favorite part was exploring Cape Town through the eyes of local and travel blogger Natalie Roos (@tailsofamermaid). This experience was booked with Airbnb (they now offer experiences in cities all over the world! This particular one is Woodstock to Winelands). We had a home cooked meal in her home and were able to explore the Spier Wine Farm which I highly recommend! All of their ingredients are from their garden and they take organic and sustainability to the next level! 

We met a rad group of photographers at the woodstock exchange who invited us to take photos that night in green point. Check out #greenpointmeet . It was so rad being with so many creatives during an epic sunset and location. 

We also brunched our way through Cape Town therefore most of my recs are brunch spots. But if you're thinking about going to Cape Town, go! It's been one of my favorite places to date and I would move there tonight if it wasn't so far away! 

eats:

+ manna (kloof street / brunch)

+ kloof street house (kloof street / brunch / dinner)

+ junior (lunch)

+ jaryd's (sea point / brunch)

+ kleinsky's delicatessen (brunch) 

+ clark's bar + dining room (brunch)

+ hallelujah (brunch)

+ truth coffee roasting (coffee + brunch)

+ origin coffee roasting (coffee + brunch) 

+ the stack (brunch / drinks)

+ superette (brunch)

+ yours truly (drinks)

+ the blue cafe (brunch)

views:

+ chapman's peak 

+ chapman's peak drive

+ lion's head

+ wally's cave (lion's head)

+ table mountain hike (platteklip gorge) 

+ tranquility cracks

+ Bo Kaap (colorful neighborhood)

shops:

+ general store 

+ stable 

+ shelf life

+ woodstock exchange 

+ SAM (south african market) 

tips: 

+ try flying via London instead of Dubai. The layover is much better and the flight is shorter

+ rent a car. It's very LA in that it is spread out (even though it's not a very big town and Uber's are crazy cheap) it was nice to have a car to explore the nearby hiking areas

+ use your credit card. you don't need to exchange much of anything since every place takes a card. Plus you get points this way!

+ check out my Airbnb Cape Town Wishlist 

xx cándida